Reader’s Reflection: It’s happened to me on several occasions that I’ll be in a small group of people – a class, a club, a workplace – and everyone there is, for the most part, of the same mind, except for one person. This one person seems to be surprisingly lacking in self-awareness – he drops comments that make me feel embarrassed for him, she monopolizes the conversation to an uncomfortable degree, he feels the need to point out where everyone else is wrong and instruct them condescendingly in his own opinions, she speaks with a degree of assumed emotional intimacy that the rest of us don’t return. It’s always amazed me, how someone can behave in these ways to such an exaggerated extreme, and not realize how noticeable it is to every other member of the group. It struck me one day, what if I’M the member of a group that everyone else is feeling that way about? Poor Jane. She truly believed that Mr. Bingley was just as smitten with her as she was with him; she genuinely thought Miss Bingley was her dear friend and confidante. Now it seems this was all in her imagination, and the two Bingleys have made it abundantly clear that they don’t return her affections, or share her ideas about their futures together. Rejection has got to be the most painful feeling there is. It’s hard not to love and admire Jane for holding onto the sweetness of her nature throughout this painful season. Her ability to keep the taste of bitter grapes out of her mouth and continue to wish them both well, is truly a tribute to her inner beauty. And Elizabeth is now looking forward to her great outdoor adventure with her aunt and uncle! Nothing puts the petty worries of unrequited affections and catty acquaintances in their proper perspective, quite like the glory and vastness of nature!